Jekyll and Hyde
by MegpoidGumiBear
Summary: In which two teens in the 70's become inseparable.
1. one beer hunting

They were on the hunt for beer. At least, that's what Melissa said, because it sounded a lot better than what they were really doing, which was taking alcohol right from Red Forman himself. It should be known that this was no easy quest. Especially for Eric. If he was caught, he was dead, it was truly simple; and so, Melissa prepped him as such.

"Alright, soldier," She began, turning around to face the rest of the teens, revealing she had smeared something black in lines across her cheeks to resemble war paint, "you are about to step into the war zone that is an adult party, and your goal? Retrieve our alcohol!" Donna snorted, causing Melissa to raise an eyebrow at her, "Drop and give me twenty."

"That's the last time that we give her sugar and pot at the same time." Hyde decided, rubbing his forehead. He jumped up from the couch and pushed her over to sit in her usual spot on the floor near his chair. He then resumed speaking, "Eric. It is time."

"Why don't you do it? Or Mel, she seems a lot more prepared than I am." Eric whined.

Hyde argued, "It's your house. Besides, Mel's still baked from our circle a while back, you can't send her up with the adults." He pointed to Melissa to prove his point, and the group watched her for a moment as she laughed, crossing her eyes. Continuing on, the curly haired boy said, "Listen to them up there. The party has reached critical mass. In ten minutes, there will be no more beer opportunities."

"No more." Kelso echoed, shaking his head. Melissa giggled and fell over, squeaking when her back hit the floor.

Eric ignored the stoned girl and nervously argued, "If my dad catches me coppin' beers, he'll kill me." Hyde smacked Eric's knee, raising his fist, "I'm willing to take that risk."

"Don't worry about it. Just remain calm, keep moving-" Kelso said, but was cut off by Donna.

"And above all, don't get sucked into my dad's hair." She kept a straight face, but Melissa, who had recovered from her fall, smacked a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles.

"What's wrong with your dad's hair?" Eric asked.

Melissa laughed, seeming to have sobered up a little, "He looks like Hyde in twenty years." Donna rolled her eyes at her best friend, turning to Eric, "Just don't look at it." Hyde stood up, leaning over to grab Eric by the face. "And Eric. Cold. Definitely cold." The Forman boy nodded, and then ran up the steps, only pausing for a moment to look back at his friends purposefully, and then resumed on his mission.

The blonde girl took her time in getting up, afraid of falling again, and she slowly moved over to sit in Hyde's chair, her long dress having to be moved so she wouldn't step on the ends. She wasn't sure why she even had so many long dresses. She, herself, was only 5'2, and her dresses were always dragging if they weren't sewn shorter. "My back hurts." She complained, placing her feet on the coffee table.

"So don't sit with your back against the chair?" Hyde mused, watching as Melissa gave him multiple looks that resembled the look that Jackie would give Kelso if she wanted something. He rolled his eyes and gestured for her to sit between him and Kelso. She did so happily, and he rubbed his hand in circles on her back begrudgingly.

Eric returned with five beers, handing them out quickly. "Good news, my dad's thinking of giving me the Vista Cruiser."

Kelso turned around to give Eric an amazed look whilst hanging another beer tab on the chain he had made. "You're getting a car?"

"Oh, have I told you how incredibly attractive you are, Eric?" Donna joked, sipping her beer.

Melissa nodded, giving Eric a jokingly flirty look. Eric played along, posing while saying, "No."

"You told me he was cute." Kelso said, earning a quick kick in the shin from Melissa, who knew of Donna's crush, and knew she wouldn't want it to be known.

"No, I didn't." Melissa's best friend cowered out of embarrassment.

"Yes, you did. I remember because you told me not to say something in front of Eric." Upon hearing Kelso's comment, Melissa smacked her palm against her forehead, letting herself flop backwards onto the couch. So much for giving Kelso a sign.

Hyde saved Donna as he spoke, "Let's focus on what's important, people. Forman stole something. To Forman!" They all raised their cans to celebrate the small win.

Forman gave a look around at them, and said, "You know what's sad? This si the proudest day of my life." Eric then pretended to cry, and Hyde hugged him like a proud parent.


	2. two eric's birthday

She didn't know why she was freaking out so bad over a stupid outfit. It wasn't like she had anyone to impress, either, it was only Hyde, and he had seen her naked countless times when they were children and didn't know any better. She supposed it was different now, the dynamic had changed a lot. They were older, they were different, not so innocent. But underneath all that, they were still Jekyll and Hyde, and they were still best friends.

Giving up, Melissa pulled on a tank top and a long skirt, a fringe jacket added for warmth. She slipped on an old pair of wedges and took the stairs two at a time, coming to meet Steven in the kitchen, where he was pretending to like Janice's cooking. He faked a grin and waved politely as Melissa dragged him out the door, her aunt yelling a farewell.

As soon as the coast was clear, he began spitting out the cookies, a face of disgust causing the blonde to laugh. "Oh, c'mon, why do you keep up the charade?" She chuckled, watching as he wiped his mouth with the cuff of his sleeve.

"I dunno, your aunt is nice to me." He shrugged, leading her across the yard into Eric Forman's basement, where the gang was watching T.V.

Jackie stood behind the couch, playing with Kelso's hair, Eric beside the dummy, and Donna right in front of Eric on the floor. Fez, the new exchange student, whom the gang had adopted socially, was beside Eric on a lawn chair. Hyde crossed the room and fell into his chair, Melissa taking the one to his right. "Does it bother anyone else that these women live in Hooterville?" Hyde asked.

Eric spoke up, "Technically, Petticoat Junction is down the track from Hooterville."

Hyde rephrased, "Ok, does it bother anyone else that they live down the track from Hooterville?"

Melissa giggled, glancing over to Donna as the redhead voiced, "It bothers me that they bathe in the town water tank."

"With the dog." Michael pointed out in confusion.

"It isn't the drinking water. It is the water for the train." Jackie tried to argue.

Melissa shook her head, "It's still three naked women with a dog."

"I want to be the Hooterville dog." Donna and Melissa chuckled at Fez's statement and returned to watching the show.

Mrs. Forman came downstairs, a laundry basket in her arms. Melissa liked Mrs. Forman. Not having many memories of her own mother, Mrs. Forman was almost a pseudo-mother to her. Not to discredit her aunt Jan, but her aunt hadn't wanted to be a mother in the first place. Aunt Janice was always the cool aunt first, and only a strict parent when need be. Mrs. Forman often left a muffin or pie for Melissa when baking, since she knew how horrible Janice was at it. Although, Melissa recalled less than half the normal amount of eggshells in the last batch of cookies Jan had produced.

Having spaced out for a moment, the blonde was brought back to reality when Hyde clapped a hand on her shoulder as he laughed at something Kelso had done. Melissa joined in after seeing him crumpled on the floor. Who could resist the hilarity of someone falling, especially Kelso?

* * *

It was the day of Eric's birthday party, and Janice had been helping Mrs. Forman decorate and prepare, leaving Melissa to be on her own in the house. Donna and her were sifting through all of Melissa's clothes to find a nice outfit. Of course, they were arguing, because the blonde wanted a white dress and the redhead wanted a t-shirt and jeans. It was chaotic.

"Donna, I can't pull off the look like you do." Melissa whined, stomping a foot.

"Well, let's compromise. Here, wear this shirt and this skirt. There, are you happy?" The redhead was quick to settle the dispute, laying out a shirt from Hyde and a skirt Janice had given her.

Melissa nodded, then took notice of the shirt. She smiled fondly and dropped her robe, pulling the outfit on quickly, in case one of the boys were somehow perving on the girls. "Thank you, Donna. What would I ever do without you?" She praised, wrapping her arms around Donna's middle.

Her best friend laughed lightly, accepting the small girl's hug, "Probably run around naked, like old times."

"Hey, I was, like, really young! Plus, you did it too!" The girl cried in protest, smacking Donna with an open fist.

"C'mon, let's go over to the basement. I bet everyone else is already there." Donna started dragging Melissa out the door, watching her scramble to grab a present and lip gloss, applying it on their way out. She got halfway across the lawn before she realized she had no pockets, and shrugged, pushing the tube of lip gloss into her bra.

The two girls stopped momentarily in the living room to place Melissa's present for Eric on the table beside the others and to say hello to the adults politely, then they booked it for the basement. Sure enough, everyone was seated very awkwardly, stiff almost. Jekyll noticed they were all wearing nice clothes, at least by their individual standards, and she almost pouted, knowing she should have worn her beige dress. Whatever.

She fell onto the cushion on the floor, leaning against Steven's legs. She glanced around, noticing nobody saying anything, and stayed silent. Then, Mrs. Forman came rushing down the stairs, calling out for help from everyone but Eric. The gang booked it up the stairs, leaving the birthday boy sitting there, waiting for his chance to run. If only it were that easy. Red had anticipated Eric's attempt at escape, and waited by the basement door.

Finally, Mrs. Forman called Eric into the living room, where they all shouted "surprise" at him, despite it being blatantly obvious that he had known the whole time. Melissa had him open her gift first, and she had given him a couple of records to add to his growing collection in the basement. He thanked her and promised they'd listen to the music soon.

She sunk into the background then, quietly sipping her soda as she watched the scene unfold. Hyde gave Eric some cassette tapes, even though Kitty and Red had given him an eight-track player. Luckily, Janice had gotten a cassette player to switch out with the eight-track player later when nobody would notice. Someone else gave him a hot shave dispenser, and Kitty made a point about her not wanting her son to grow up. Mel found it cute. She wished her mother were still alive at that moment.

Finally, the grown-ups left and the teens were left to their own devices. Laurie was almost out the door when the boys bombarded her, asking her to get them some beer. Melissa snorted at that. Laurie was sure as hell not doing anything for her brother's lame friends. Had Melissa asked instead of them, they'd maybe have a chance, but that was only because Melissa always kept quiet when she'd see boys sneaking out of Laurie's window. In return, Laurie was somewhat civil to her, nice even sometimes.

Sometime after the adults had all left, Jackie decided to haul Donna outside so she could gift Eric with a scented candle. The blonde thought the candle was a dumb idea. Sure, it was great to give in general as a gift to your significant other, but this was Eric they were talking about. He'd appreciate a lot more, like something to add to his collection of _Star Wars_ memorabilia. Or a couple records like Melissa had given him.

Anyways, while the two girls were trying to trap Eric into a romantic scene with Donna, Melissa snuck away to the basement, where she found a joint she had stowed away in Eric's secret money hiding spot. She lit the incense and the joint in one flick of her lighter and took a puff, sighing outwards. A feeling of calm washed over her and she closed her eyes, breathing in more smoke. Soon, she felt high and smiled, snuffing the joint out. She put it back where she had hidden it originally and let the incense burn a little more. She then returned upstairs to find the gang in the kitchen, spying on Donna and Eric. She arrived just in time for one of them to yell, "We can see you!"

The group ducked, Hyde pulling Melissa down as well. "Is he kissing her?" Fez asked curiously in a whisper.

"We don't know, man, we can't see them." Hyde replied with a shake of his head.

"Eric?" Fez called over the counter, "Are you kissing her?"


	3. three the todd rundgren concert

"Ever since yesterday, I can't stop thinking about you. I mean, I've known you practically my whole life. I want you. I want you so bad." "Eric, it's a car." Donna said, looking over his shoulder at the Vista Cruiser.  
Kelso stood at Eric's other shoulder, clapping a hand down on it, "Let's just leave these two kids alone."  
"Yeah." Donna said, and the two began walking down the driveway, where Melissa was walking up to meet them. Bob Pinciotti met the three as he was on his way into the Forman house, "Say, hey there, Donna."  
"Hey, dad." Donna greeted her father as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
"Ah, you kids. Standing around the driveway. It's so darn cute. You know, you may not realize it, but this is the most fun you're ever gonna have." Bob sighed, looking around.  
"So it's all downhill from here, sir?" Eric piped up from between Donna and Kelso.  
"Yeah." Bob answered, shaking his head. He then walked away, brushing his hair with an afro pick. Kelso leaned, watching Bob go, and then questioning, "What happened to your dad's hair?" "He got a permanent." Melissa rolled her eyes, and exited the conversation with Donna.  
"So that's permanent?" Another beautiful example of Kelso's stupidity.

Melissa sipped her pop while staring at the table, zoned out as she was thinking about her study date with Steven earlier. She had changed since then, and was now wearing her ever usual long dress. The blonde kept thinking over what they had said when they were at the library. "Hell, I'd choose you over anyone any day." Was what kept running through her mind. She hadn't stopped thinking about it. "Mel, you okay?" Donna asked, noticing the frown on her friend's face. Jackie looked between the two and stood, demanding, "I have to go to the bathroom. Donna, Melissa." The three girls scurried away into the bathroom, where Donna and Jackie waited for their friend to say something.  
"What does it mean if a guy says he'd choose you over anyone, any day?" She asked, quoting Steven exactly.  
"Oh my gosh, who told you that?!" Jackie squealed.  
"Nobody important." The blonde muttered.  
"Whoever it was, really likes you, in that case." Donna retorted. "No, he doesn't." She decided, realizing how stupid she sounded once she actually heard herself talking about it. "Oh, please, I'm surprised he hasn't tried anything yet... Or has he?" Jackie asked hopefully, clasping her hands together.  
"Uh, no. We're just friends, I think. I just got confused because he suddenly said that and I'm not sure if he likes me or we're jsut friends. I probably sound so stupid, oh God, let's just go back out." Melissa rambled, then dragged the other two back to the table, where the boys were talking, but stopped upon seeing the girls. Despite being increcibly weird, Melissa pushed it off.

After watching Kelso and Donna fight over the front seat for a few minutes, Melissa slid into the back seat. "So, who are we picking up first?" "Uh, Hyde." Eric said, giving her a look.  
Melissa nodded and grabbed her purse, looking through it to find her lip gloss. She had made a decision to act on her stupid schoolgirl crush on her friend, despite knowing in her heart that he was never one for feelings, and that he hadn't really had a girlfriend before, unless you could count the biker chick that was now dating his uncle. Red came out to tell the kids that they weren't to take the car out of town, because it was old, and Melissa huffed, flopping over so that her head landed on Kelso's leg. "Man, I really wanted to see Todd Rundgren, too." The small group began arguing amongst themselves on whether or not they should still go, and Melissa stayed silent. It didn't sit well with her, breaking Red Forman's trust, but then again, she wasn't fond of limitations, and she really wanted to see Todd Rundgren live. Eric pulled out of his driveway with the same intentions as when he had gotten in the car in the first place; to go see the concert.

"I'm telling you, we're out of gas." Kelso exclaimed. Sometime after picking everyone up, and Melissa having to squish between Hyde and Fez, they had pulled over due to car troubles. The blonde girl groaned and hauled herself up onto the trunk of the car, laying flat against it. "We're gonne miss the concert." She whined, and then jumped as felt a hand crawling up her leg, under her dress. "Jesus, Fez, what the hell is your problem?" "Sorry, I dunno where we got him, but wherever it was, had no women. He's a very horny little bastard." Hyde yanked roughly on Fez's collar, pulling him away from the blonde that Hyde had feelings for. The group then turned to the mechanic who announced, "It's the battery. It's 6 years old, and shot to hell." Jackie slid from her seat in the car, pulling her purse onto her shoulder. "I know what, I'll just call my dad."  
"Kelso, tell her!" Eric stated.  
In a very monotonous voice, Kelso explained, "He can't take the car out of town."  
Jackie argued, "I'm not calling his dad."  
"Jackie, parents talk to each other. About how we, screw up." Hyde said, adding a tone at the end. "Why would they talk about that?" Jackie asked, making a few hand gestures.  
"They can't help it," began Eric, as he explained to her, "Look, say there's a party, see. And all of our parents are there. Together." To cut the story short, the entire group, minus Jackie wound up doing the hustle, pretending to be their parents. It was times like this in which Melissa truly enjoyed having these people as friends. Their incredibly weird antics were fun, and she thoroughly loved them all. Of course, Jackie had to ruin the fun.  
"Now. . . We are in the middle of nowhere, and I have to go to the ladies' room. Donna? Melissa?" Begrudgingly, Melissa stomped after the other two girls, groaning.  
Finally, the group had made it to the concert, minus Jackie and Kelso, due to them having to give up two tickets for a car battery. Melissa swayed to the song slongside Donna and Hyde, holding up her lighter. As it turns out, the mechanic was actually gay, and had brought along his boyfriend for the concert. Melissa thought they were a pretty cute couple. As a particularly slow song came on, a few people began dancing close to their seats, just sort of holding each other and swaying, and Melissa found herself shocked when she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her in to dance. It was Hyde. Perhaps she hadn't worn her favorite lip gloss for nothing. Perhaps she was right. Maybe, Hyde did have something for her. 


	4. four streaking part one

Melissa made her way over to Forman's basement in time to hear someone yelling inside. She didn't rush in, just went about as normal walking in to see the boys doing something in the doorways. Kelso was yelling at both Hyde and Fez to push their arms up against the doorways. Melissa assumed it was some stupid trick Kelso had learned from a kid on the street and she went to sit on the couch and wait for them to finish whatever it was.

Eric came stomping down the stairs, carrying sodas, and Jackie jumped up from her spot on the dryer. "Oh my God, I'm so dehydrated."

"Oh, here. Piggly-Wiggly Diet Creme Soda." Eric offered to the pretty girl with a fake smile.

As per usual, the girl came out as a absolute diva when she said, "I told you my top three choices were Tab, Fresca, or Diet Rite."

Melissa rolled her eyes and made room on the couch for someone else to sit. Eric began to sit down as he replied to the brunette, "Again, you get Piggly Wiggly Diet Creme Soda."

From across the room, Melissa could see Hyde 'discreetly' trying to get her attention. She didn't pay attention to whatever prissy thing Jackie was saying, and raised her eyebrows in question at her best friend. He responded with a devilish grin and a nod in her direction, and it was at this point that Melissa realized she was wearing the shirt he had given her last year for her birthday. She stuck out her tongue at him and tried to return to the group's conversation.

Mrs. Forman barged in, yelling at the teens to gain their attention. Melissa leaned back on the arm of the couch and responded to her yelling, "What is it, Mrs. Forman?"

"Melissa, dear, please call me Kitty. Mrs. Forman makes me feel old. And the president is coming!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"What president?" Eric asked.

"The president of these United States, Gerald R. Ford, the 36th. . . 8th. . . 40th. . . I don't know, he's the president!" Mrs. Forman ran off into a back room of the basement.

"Why would Ford come to Point Place?" Eric asked.

Jackie chirped in, excited to be important in the conversation, "Because we are a whistle-stop along his Wisconsin campaign trail. My dad organized it."

Again, Melissa zoned out, this time because she heard Jackie mention her father, and she had to restrain herself from plucking the girl's head clean off her shoulders. The brunette was a serious daddy's girl through and through, and it irked Melissa. She didn't appreciate her father for any of his efforts, simply took him for granted. Melissa, not having a father, had thought much of this, and after much consideration, it was decided her father wasn't worth her time. Her mother had never mentioned a word of her father to her before dying, so why would it be important now? Anyways, she'd long since told aunt Jan that if her father were to arrive, she'd give him a small opportunity to explain himself, and depending on the shitty excuse or life-changing explanation, would then make her move. It was much easier to decide these things when there wasn't an actual person to consider, of course.

* * *

School was as usual. Boring, disheartening, and life-draining. The only thing keeping Melissa from falling asleep were the funny notes she and Hyde were tossing across the classroom. They'd purposely seated themselves at far ends of the room just to see how long it'd take for the teacher to notice.

Just as Melissa was about to throw another crumpled piece of paper, the intercom went off, startling most of the students awake, and also the teacher. She could hear Hyde's snickering. Then, her principal began speaking in his monotonous, dreary voice, "At the bell, please gather in the gymnasium for an important assembly." Then, the bell rang, and Melissa rushed to grab up her things, the piece of paper in her hand dropping to the floor. Unknowing to her, Hyde stooped to pick it up as he walked out of the classroom, quickly pocketing it as he jogged to catch up to the blonde.

"Bet he'll mention the motor oil." The boy flashed her a wicked grin, and she had to compose herself silently. That damn smile of his. It really would be the death of her.

The assembly was spent letting Kelso braid her hair in intricate designs Jackie had taught him. Melissa didn't mind being his dummy (hah!), it felt sort of nice to have someone play with her hair. She closed her eyes and nearly drifted off, holding onto someone's arm to keep her from falling.

Melissa was pretty sure the school was well overdue for a call to the electrician or something, because she noticed out of the corner of her eye, light bulbs flickering on. Weird.

After school, Donna and Melissa walked home, taking a longer route to Forman's house as they wanted some time for girl talk. "So, you and Eric?" Melissa asked, side-eyeing the redhead.

"Uh, we're good, I think. I still don't know what we are, but I think that's okay." Donna admitted, thinking out loud for the most part. It was an unspoken agreement between the two girls that everything stayed between them. Which was nice, considering Jackie had a knack for blabbing her mouth to half the school before you could even say another word.

"That's good. You don't need to know what you are. Don't have to force yourselves into a box because Jackie thinks you should. If you're cool with whatever's between you two now, then why change it?" Melissa smiled, seeing Donna's unbearable grin. "But please, tell Jackie the details of your recent make-out session, because I've yet to get Eric's 'wee wee pee pee' phase out of my mind, so I don't need any more mental pictures." She faked a groan and pretended to puke, and the two girls laughed. They definitely needed this girl talk.

"So, what about you and Hyde?" Donna asked.

"Huh?" The blonde retorted, wondering why Donna was bringing up the curly-haired stoner. He was only a friend. Although, she _had_ been having some thoughts lately. Quickly, Melissa denied them to herself, blaming her teenage hormones.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. All he does anymore is talk to you, about you, I'm pretty sure you're the only one in the group he hangs out with alone anymore." The tall redhead explained as if she were stating the obvious, making a face at the end.

"Donna, me and Hyde are just friends. Please, we've been friends since we were little kids. There's no way he thinks of me like that. Is there?"

The question she posed was enough to confirm Donna's theory; Melissa liked Hyde. "Yeah, there is. Look, I was thinking the same thing when I first kissed Eric. Then, I started freaking out because of the whole 'boyfriend v.s best friend' thing in my head. But, I say you should go for it. If you think there's a chance that he could like you back, then go for it. I want you to have what me and Eric have."

Melissa nodded, taking in the advice. She bit her lip in thought, then said, "Ok. I'll do it. Tonight. I'll get him to walk me home." She put the plan in place, and Donna stuck her hand out, awaiting a high five. Melissa slapped the redhead's hand in triumph.

The girls walked into the basement just in time for them to hear the boys' big plan. Streaking. Well, this should be fun. The blonde pulled out her homework and began working on the assignment for history class. It wasn't due yet, but she thought it would be better to have it done now, rather than stress over it later. She finished it in a timely fashion and put away her things, trying to muster up the courage to grab Hyde's attention. "Uh, Hyde? Walk me home?" She asked, and the boy nodded, saying goodbye to the others. She caught the knowing gaze from Donna and sneered back, sticking out her tongue.

Hyde grabbed the binder in Melissa's hands, letting it hang by his side as they walked across Forman's front yard over to Melissa's. She gripped the straps of her book bag tightly as she tried to ease into a conversation, "So, streaking?"

"Yeah. Pretty genius, ironically enough since it came from Kelso." Hyde replied, his glasses making it impossible to see his eyes. How was he still able to walk in the dark with them on? "Oh, right, can I borrow a lipstick?"

"Uh, sure?" Melissa thought about asking what for, but decided against it, shutting her mouth again. "Come on in, I'll go get it."

She ran up the stairs, dropping her book bag by her bed as she glanced over her lipsticks. Ah, perfect. An old red shade she'd never use. She walked back downstairs, holding the lipstick with a white-knuckle grip. "Hey, so, there's this test coming up in history. I know you don't really care about your grades, but I thought maybe we could study together for it? We can come here to do it, I mean study, since Jan will be working tomorrow." She nervously proposed as she handed him the lipstick.

He nodded, pocketing the tube of make-up, feeling the paper in there too. "Yeah, sure. After school?"

"Yeah." She agreed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. After a moment, she realized she hadn't given him the go-ahead to leave, and he was waiting. She took a deep breath, _this is it_. She pushed up on her toes, grabbing his shoulders to steady herself, and planted a kiss on surprisingly smooth cheek. "Later." She said, smiling as she turned around.

"Later." He whispered to himself, smirking and shaking his head as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Just from out of view came a soft "awe" from aunt Jan, and Melissa jokingly yelled, "Shut up!"


	5. five streaking part two

The whole night, Melissa's heart had barely stopped racing, and her mind kept going in circles. Had she messed up by kissing Hyde? Were they going to be awkward now? Was he really into her, like Donna said? These thoughts kept her up, and she didn't fall asleep until sunlight was just about to pour through her window.

She woke up by her alarm, and she absent-mindedly smacked the object to shut it up, wanting to go back to sleep. Then, she remembered the boys had a plan to streak today, and jumped up, nearly laughing to herself. Any reason to laugh at the boys was a good reason. Melissa dressed herself, a long white dress as per usual, and some high wedges. Adding a small swipe of lip gloss, she was ready for the day, and bounded down the stairs, a tiny smile unable to contain itself on her face.

She waved to her aunt Jan in the living room, the woman focused on a sewing project. She had to give it to her aunt. While she wasn't the best baker, she did have some talent when it came to a needle and thread. All she ever used was a needle and thread, claiming a machine was too bulky for what she wanted. And the stitches were always perfectly aligned, although the projects took up much of her time.

The blonde girl greeted Red and Kitty as she took her time walking down to the basement, being suddenly aware that she might come across a naked teen boy down those stairs. She wanted to push that off a little longer. "Red, you're going to ask another question, aren't you sir?" She asked after seeing the question that he was supposed to ask the president.

"Well, of course." Red smiled proudly, and Melissa caught movement in the background, seeing someone wearing a trenchcoat. Oh, jeez. They sure made it obvious. Melissa said bye to the Forman's and sauntered over to the group standing in the driveway, trying to keep from laughing.

"Gosh, you guys are dumb." She mumbled to herself, and stuck out a tongue to Hyde when she realized he'd heard her. Standing beside Donna, she watched as they went over details of the plan.

"Did you write 'I hate the fuzz' on your butt?" One of the guys asked Hyde, and he nodded.

"Oh, Mel, here's your lipstick." He suddenly remembered, and dug into his pocket for the tube.

Melissa cringed and shook her head, pushing it back to him. "Keep it." She scowled, glad she had decided to give him the one she never used.

"You got the masks?"

"Yeah, I got three Snoopys and a Nixon."

As if on instinct, the boys all tapped their fingers to their noses, and Melissa almost followed suit, realizing last second it didn't apply to her. "Not it!" They all exclaimed, and Eric was a second too late.

"Fez, how'd you know how to do that?" He questioned the foreign boy.

Fez smiled sweetly, responding, "My country invented 'not it'." Melissa found herself wondering what country that was exactly.

"So, can we go already?" Kelso declared suddenly, "I'm itchin' to release the hound here." He gestured wildly to his lower body and the girls both visibly cringed, taking a step back.

Hyde nodded, seemingly agreeing with the idiot, and put his hand in a fist, bringing it forward for the other boys to place theirs onto. "It's go time." He said, but they all broke apart when Mrs. Forman came out.

"Oh, well, now look at you guys. What is it with you young people and Columbo?" She asked, letting out her awkward laugh.

"Bye." One of the guys said awkwardly, and the teens quickly fled, Melissa assumed it had something to do with the fact that they were naked around Mrs. Forman. The petite blonde ran after them, amused by their very suspicious struts. It was _so_ obvious they were going to streak. That was, if they had the guts to do it at all.

Melissa followed them to the gym, where the Q&A was taking place, and Fez became quickly confused, as all the Secret Service men were wearing trench coats, and he mistook them for streakers as well. She hid a laugh as she explained that they were here with the president, and they weren't idiotic enough to even consider streaking. Then, she found herself a seat in the back of the gym, not wanting to miss out on the action, but also wanting a perfect place to hide, so as to avoid seeing Kelso. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of seeing him naked, and she scowled to herself, trying to rid the thought from her brain altogether.

It wasn't too long after when the others in the gang all piled into the row, filling the seats to her side. "You chickened out, huh?" She cast a side gaze to the boy beside her.

He said nothing for a second, then hung his head and imitated a chicken for a moment, making Melissa laugh. "Yeah, we can't do it." He admitted to his best friend, enjoying the smile that spread on her face, even if it was because he was a coward.

The Q&A started, and Melissa found herself leaning into Hyde's side, her hand grasping his in her lap. Red got up to ask his question, but it became apparent that he was nervous, as he was a stuttering mess. That was, until Eric came out of nowhere, dressed in nothing but a mask, running right past Red, yelling his infamous catchphrase from when he was younger. Luckily for Melissa, Hyde threw a hand in front of her eyes, effectively shielding her from seeing the lanky boy naked.

Red recovered, turning to the President with a vicious smile, asking, "Hey, Gerry, here's my question. How the hell could you pardon Nixon?"


End file.
